Battery City
by Paint the Cat
Summary: This is the story of the poor unfortunate souls who are forced to live their every day life in Steam City. The story is based around the life of Jeremy Kane and his friends and enemies.
1. Chapter 1

**Battery City:**

 **by Samantha Anders**

Steam City, The city known as the place where your dreams would come true. Where steam filled the air from factories that created the next big thing. Where dazzling lights flashed and the pretty women flocked around you and everything was amazing. Where everyone was nice and everyone treated you as equal. Well this was all false. This city was filled with lights from the triple x bars and half the places were closed down. the so called "beautiful women" were prostitutes that waited for men on the corner of the streets. The so called steam that filled the air was more of a smog that polluted the air and poisoned your lungs. It came from factories that did not create new inventions but radioactive waste that spilled out in the streets. The was the reality of this city and this is the story about the poor souls who lived in it.

 **Chapter 1**

Jeremy sat at his table with some metal and bolts for his new inventions. He sat there scribbling blueprints on a piece of paper and muttering things to himself. The light in the small room was dim and flickered off and on. the floor was covered with balls of crumpled paper that had ideas the had not meet the criteria necessary to become a reality. the walls had wallpaper that was brown and was ripped and torn away in places. Jeremy sat with his face close to the paper and occasionally muttered "no...that won't work...well maybe...i don't know.." before soon discarding the idea and crumbling it and throwing it behind him so it could join the rest of the balls of paper on the floor.

He sat back sighed and rubbed his face. He was having a difficult time creating an invention worthy of him buying material for and making. "Why is life so hard" he muttered to himself. Just then he heard the door in the other room open and slam shut. he got up quickly from his seat to see his friend Colin breathing heavily and holding a bag of stuff. before he could ask any questions Colin ran into the bedroom and whispered "I'm not here!" he then disappeared into the room. Before he could even think there was a loud slamming on the front door.

Jeremy sighed and opened it. He on the other side of the door was an officer in his normal dark gold colored uniform. Jeremy got nervous seeing a club in his hand. The officer pushed past Jeremy and shouted "Where is he!" he started flipping over furniture and tables searching. "Where is who?" Jeremy asked innocently. "Dont play dumb with me boy! Where your orange haired friend! i need to give that child a beating. this is the 5th time this week that he's stolen food from the market, and i don't intend to give up on finding him!" The officer yelled and went to the bedroom. jeremy felt nervous that he would find Colin but the officer returned from the room empty handed. "God Damnit!" He yelled then sighed. before he left the apartment room he turned around and pointed at Jeremy "Ill find the little brat you can't hide him forever!" he shouted then slammed the door.

Jeremy sighed in relief and after a few seconds called back to Colin"He's gone!". laughter followed his words and collin hopped in through the window. "Idiot didn't think to check the fire escape!" Colin laughed. he set the bag of stuff down on the floor and started searching through it. "You can't keep doing this" Jeremy told Colin sternly. Colin laughed again. "How come? its the only thing giving us food." he said while pulling out a loaf of bread. he then pulled out as chicken carcass and some sausages."You're going to get caught you were too close this time!" Jeremy said. Colin just brushed him off. "Yeah, yeah, yeah whatever mister grumpy pants" he said cheerfully.

"Im not being grumpy im being serious!" Jeremy snapped back. Colin looked hurt when he said that. "You know i only do it so we can eat. it's the only way i can help out around here! i cant get a job, you can't sell inventions, what else is there to do? id be pretty grateful if i were you!" Colin replied. "Im not grumpy, im not ungrateful, i'm concerned for your well being!" Jeremy said. "Do you know what would happen if they caught you? they could hurt you, throw you in jail and id never get to see you again. i'm concerned and worried. you can't keep doing this for me please just stop" He begged. Colin rolled his eyes and sighed. "Fine..." he muttered. "Thank you" Jeremy sighed.

Colin jumped up from the floor and took the food into the kitchen. "So have you found a way to change your hair back?" Colin asked. Jeremy felt his hair and sighed. a couple weeks ago, while testing to see if a product he created that transformed grey hair back to its natural color, he had accidently turned his brown hair all to a silvery grey color. "No not yet, i don't think it'll ever get changed back." he said sadly. "Ah...bummer, it makes you look like a grandpa" Colin said jokingly. Jeremy frowned. "Your a grandpa" he said back to him. "Well what ever lets eat" Colin said handing Jeremy a Sandwich. They ate and spent the rest of the day being lazy.

 **End of Chapter 1**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Jeremy and colin carried material to the park where he would sell his inventions. "Do we really need all this stuff?' Colin complained. They had to carry a folded up table, a stool, and two great big boxes filled with Jeremys new inventions. "Yes now keep up we're almost there!" jeremy called back to him. "This is it, this is the big day where i finally make my big break!" Jeremy said happily. "You said that last week, and the week before, and the week before that..." Colin said. "Yeah i know but this week is different i can feel it!" Jeremy said excitedly.

They finally arrived at the park where he set up to show-case his inventions. It was the busiest area on a road that cut right throw the middle of the park. Hundreds of people walked through it to get to their jobs and homes. They set down their stuff and started to set up their area. As they set up the table Colin picked up Jeremys new invention. It had a funnel that went in the front and went down to a handle that had a dial on it. "So what exactly does this do?" Colin asked confused.

Jeremy jumped up and cleared his throat. He then began his sales pitch. "Now, ladies and Gentlemen, i have here today an invention that will make your everyday life easier than it was before. What i have here is a Screamer! Now what exactly is a screamer? im glad you asked it is the perfect to talk to people far away and make yourself be heard. you simply turn the dial and talk into it and..." Jeremy turned the dial and talked into the device making his voice ten times louder than it already was,"...NOW YOUR VOICE CAN BE AMPLIFIED 5 TIMES LOUDER THAN BEFORE!" his voice screamed out from the device ringing in your ears and echoing across the park.

Jeremy stood in his place with a big smile on his face and beaming with pride. "So, what do you think is? it a big seller or what!" Jeremy asked. Colin stood for a second, his ears still ringing from the loud sound that had just been made. "Well...its..." before he could finish a voice sounded from behind Jeremy that said "Its a horrible idea! who would ever buy that!?" The voice said. Jeremy didn't even need to turn around to see who it was. he knew that deep voice from a mile away. "John..." jeremy muttered in a disgusted voice.

He turned around and saw the same familiar face of his arch enemy, John McDale. He had a big square jaw and cheekbones so sharp you could slice butter with them. Jeremy had a disgusted look on his face as he saw John there with his big dashing and stupid grin. John laughed and crossed his arms. "Now why would you ever want to buy that? its poorly put together, it's ugly as sin, and annoying as hell. No one would ever buy that in a million years" He said rolling his eyes.

"Shut up John you're an ass!" Jeremy said back to him. John ignored his comment and continued talking. "Now why would someone buy that when you could buy this!" he held out his wrist to show nna silver band wrapped around his hand. it had a small clock on it that made it make a ticking noise. "I call it a Ticker, you can watch the time on your wrist without ever needing an actual clock nearby" He said flashing his new invention. He already had a group of people surrounding him and looking impassively at his approached Jeremy and stood face to face with him. He was a bit taller than Jeremy making Jeremy look up to him which he hated. John then walked past Jeremy stepped on his Screamer crushing it. "Oops" he said sarcastically and left with the group of people. Jeremy stared at his crushed invention and sighed. Colin came up to him and put a hand on his shoulder "C'mon, lets just go" He said sympathetically. Jeremy nodded and left leaving his inventions and material behind

End of Chapter two


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"Come on ladies and gents, come and get your own screamer today!" Jeremy yelled out loudly. People walked by without giving him single glance. It had been a few days since the incident with John. Jeremy had tried to improve his screamer or come up with a better ideas but he failed miserably at finding things to improvements to make and failed even to come up with new ideas. He decided to take a break from trying to sell his inventions. He left his material on its own knowing that it wasn't even good enough for someone to steal.

He walked along the popular road in the park, admiring the white blossoms in the trees and the pink and purple lillies on the ground with daisies surrounding them. _I guess there is some beauty in this god forsaken city_ he thought to himself. He walked past another person not far down from where his stand was at. It was a blonde guy trying to sell beauty products. The guy looked around 16 or 17, around Jeremy's age. The guy also wore a black shirt with a bright white lab coat over it. Jeremy thought it was odd for a guy to sell beauty products but he didn't judge.

As he walked past the guy John walked right past him. Jeremy rolled his eyes and stuck his tongue out at him. It was childish but it was all he could do. He wasn't strong enough to fight him nor physically fit enough to compare to him. Just as John passed him he saw Colin further out. he could recognize his friend from a mile away. He always wore a light green shirt under a dark green jacket the was filthy, ripped and tattered all over.

Before he could greet his friend Colin ran right past Jeremy. Before he could turn around he heard a struggle behind him. "Oh! Very clever! You think disguising yourself would let you sell invention hmmm? Ha! Why sell inventions out here when you could spend the night at my place?" He heard John say. He turned around to see John grabbing onto the boy he had passed. He looked closer and realized that the boy, wasn't a boy at all, it was a girl!

She struggled with him and was cornered ono a large tree where John was gaining up on her, grabbing her in places that would make anyone uncomfortable. "Hey asshole, get off of her!" Colin yelled and pushed John push didn't do much but it got John's attention John turned around with a furious gaze. "This isnt about you boy!" he yelled and punched Colin in the face knocking him down. Colin started bleeding out his nose and looked up angrily. When Jeremy saw his friend hurt he stepped in. He shoved John away from the girl that looked near tears. John looked even more furious with the second shove. Jeremy wished he could do more but he couldn't throw a punch to save his then soon learned he couldn't take a punch either because John punched him right in the gut. Remarkably, Jeremy managed to stay standing up. "She's not complaining, why are trying to defend her?" John said pointing at the girl. She ran behind Jeremy and quietly whispered "Please make him stop". John stared at them for a long time in silence, but finally backed off. "Fine but all the women eventually come to me" he said, turned around, and walked away.

Jeremy quickly rushed over to Colin to check on him. "Dude, are you okay?" he asked him worriedly. Colin simply smiled. "yeah, i'm fine. We kicked his ass though." he said with a smile. he then whipped the blood away from his smiled. That was the Colin he knew. The kid to always look on the positive side of things and quick with a joke. He was happy to see that his spirit wasn't down.

Jeremy turned around and decided it was time to check on the girl. "What about you? Are you ok?" he asked. She nodded. "Yeah i'm fine. Thanks for helping me." She said with a smile. She no longer looked terrified but looked relieved and happy. "My name's Rebecca" she said and held out her hand. "I'm Jeremy, and this is Colin." Jeremy said and shook her hand.

"To honest with you i thought you were a dude when i first saw you" Jeremy admitted.

Rebecca smiled. "Good that's what i want you to think." she said and returned to her stand where her items were being sold. She started to pack up her stuff into boxes. "This town is too much. i need to start searching for a place to crash in" She said while folding up her table.

Before Jeremy respond Colin jumped into the conversation "You can stay with us!" he exclaimed. Rebecca seemed shocked along with Jeremy. "Thanks for the offer but i'm not gonna stay the night at two random guys place." She said and started to walk away. Colin ran in front of her and blocked her way. "We're not like John we're nice we just saved you! We have food. and we could help you with some of your inventions!" Colin offered. Jeremy didn't feel too comfortable offering a random stranger to stay in their home. Besides, it was barely big enough to fit him and Colin let alone someone else.

Rebecca paused and thought for a moment and thought about this offer. "You guys can help me with an invention?" she asked. "Sure! we'll do anything to help." Colin said. Jeremy decided to step in at this moment. "Colin we don't have to money to buy myself material and we especially don't have the money to buy her material." Jeremy said. "Wait you're an inventor too?" She asked quickly before Jeremy could say anything paused,confused. "Uh...yeah i guess." He replied. "Are you good with technical stuff?" She asked. "Yeah" he replied. She smiled and pulled out a wad of cash. "I'll pay you to stay at your place and help me with my new invention." Rebecca said. She looked desperate.

Jeremy took the money out of her hand and counted it. it was more money than he had made in months. "Where did you ge- "He was interrupted by Rebecca. "Don't ask just tell me if we have a deal or not." She said sternly. Jeremy looked up and smiled. "deal!" he said happily.

end of chapter 3.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Jeremy turned the key in the lock to open the door to their apartment. He then turned the knob and opened the door. The tiny dark room with the dim flickering light appeared into sight. The floor had trash and crumpled up paper balls covered the floor. The brown wall paper on the walls were torn and faded. There was a table in the middle of the living room and a couch that was torn up by it.

"Welcome to our home" Jeremy said with a smile. Rebecca saw the place and wrinkled her nose. "Whats that smell?" She asked stepping into the room. "Jeremy sniffed the air and shrugged. "I don't know." he walked into the room and threw his keys on a table by the door.

"This is the living room…" Jeremy said and then pointed to the room next room. "...that's my study room which is where we will be creating...whatever it is you wish to invent" he said. "and down the hall is our room. you can sleep in my bed and ill just sleep on the floor in the living room." he told Rebecca. "Why don't you just sleep on the couch?" Rebecca asked. "Cause that's where Colin sleeps" "oh"

The was a long awkward silence until Colin spoke. "Whenever you're not creating devices with Jeremy, you can spend time with me! Are you new around town? I could show you around" he said playfully. Rebecca smiled. "Im not that new but i sure will spend time with you. Now excuse me but i have to use the restroom" Rebecca said then left into the other room. When the door closed Jeremy walked next Colin.

"Dude, i wouldn't go having a crush on a girl that's not gonna stay very long." He whispered. Colin just shrugged. "Can't blame me for trying, she's the most beautiful girl i've ever seen" Colin whispered back. "Dude you've only just met her i don't think you could be to head over heels for her." he pointed out. They heard the door open from down the hall and the stopped talking. "Ok lets get started" Rebecca said with a smile.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Jeremy laid out the blueprints to Rebecca's invention. He examined it and had a puzzled look on his face. "So...what exactly does this do?" he asked. Rebecca smiled. "It's every girl's new best friend. It's a hair dryer!" She said with a big smile and she looked at Jeremy as though he should know what it was. "A hair whater?" "A hair _dryer"_ she clarified.

Colin came over and glanced at the blueprints. he scanned over them quickly and smiled. "I think this is really clever." Colin said with a big smile. Rebecca's cheeks turned red. JEremy ignored Colin and continued. "But what is it used for?" he asked. "To dry hair ding-dong!" she retorted. "Well why would anyone use it instead of waiting for the air to dry it?" he asked. "Well its alot faster obviously! what if you have a hot date and you woke up late making you take a shower late then you have to get going after words? You're not just gonna leave with dripping wet hair are you? no! you're gonna use this device to dry your hair because you're the smartest person on the planet!" she ranted.

Jeremy just stared at her for a while but eventually just shrugged and said "Whatever. Lets go find some material" He said and with that they left the apartment and went into town. While they walked, they reached the park that they needed to cross in order to get into the market area. As they walked through they approached John's stand with his inventions. They halted a few yards away. "C'mon lets just go around him" Jeremy suggested. Rebecca shook her head."Let's just walk past and act like we don't see him." she said and continued on.

They walked on and just as they got to where John was he spoke."Oh! come back for more? i told you they always come back" He said with a smile. he came forward and grabbed Rebecca by the arm and pulled her away. Jeremy could only stare in shock as it was happening. He had already been in one fight that day and didn't want to be in another.

But in that moment Colin snapped. He lunged forward and punched John in the face hard. John let go of Rebecca and stepped back. astonished. Even though John had stopped Colin was still angry and went after him again. he pushed him down, leaped on top of him and kept punching him. All John could do is lay there and take the beating. Jeremy finally snapped out of it and jumped in and pulled Colin off of him. "I will kill you! you hear me? kill you!" Colin screamed. "I'm tired you you and your shit!" He yelled loudly. Jeremy just pulled him back and restrained him.

Then, Colin's rage turned into uncontrollable sobs. Jeremy just pulled him back and Rebecca ran up to soothe him. They kept walking and went into town. John sat on the ground with blood coming out of his nose with an appalled look on his face.

end of chapter 5


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